Creative writing Books

Book SynopsisChristina Kallasis Adjunct Professor in the School of the Arts Film Division at Columbia University, USA, and also teaches at the New Schoolin New York. A producer and writer, she has been the President of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe since 2006, and is the founder of the Writers Improv Studio in New York.

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Book SynopsisFirst-Year Writing describes significant language patterns in college writing today, how they are different from expert academic writing, and how to inform teaching and assessment with corpus-based linguistic and rhetorical genre analysis. Trade Review“This book does a good job of presenting the impetus for the study, explaining why so few studies of this nature exist, detailing the findings, and suggesting ways in which the results can inform pedagogy. … will be an interesting and informative read for those who work with FY students in the post-secondary classroom and in support services, such as writing centres. … this reviewer believes that this study makes genuine contributions to the body of knowledge on FY writing.” (Tina Beynen, The Linguist List, linguistlist.org, June, 2016)Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisKim Wiltshire is a playwright and fiction writer, and is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Edge Hill University, UK.Table of ContentsIntroduction Collaboration Critical Engagement What is writing for theatre? On A Practical Note Using This Book A Collaborative Approach to Writing About Playwriting Role definitions PART 1: FOUNDATIONS 1. A Brief History of Theatre for Playwrights Ancient Theatre Medieval Theatre The Renaissance The Seventeenth Century to the Twentieth Century 2. The Cultures of Writing for Theatre – Innovators Innovators of the past Nineteenth Century Innovators Twentieth Century Innovators Who else can new playwrights learn from? 3. Establishing Practice What is theatre for? Why write for theatre? 4. Becoming a Playwright Empathy Ambition/Drive Humility Knowing Your Craft Imagination Knowing the business of theatre 5. Building Blocks Subject and Story Structure Form Voice and Style Building the world Character and Dialogue 6. Foundational Exercises and Key Points Exercise 1 Starting Point Exercise 2 – Character Exercise 3 – Character Exercise 4 – Plotting and Story Exercise 5 – Location Exercise 6 – Economy and exploration of Language Exercise 7 – Performing Work Exercise 8 – Plotting Theatre Shapes Conclusion to Part 1 PART 2: SPECULATIONS Introduction 7. Exploring Possibilities Types of theatre Theatre in the digital age 8. Cultures of Writing for Theatre – Innovators Bringing Theatre to a new audience Who can new playwrights learn from? 9. Exploring Practice: Making Theatre in the 21st Century Changing practice New Forms of Theatre Ethnographic, Verbatim and Participant Led Theatre Dramaturgs and Dramaturgy 10. New Voices, New Forms Collaboration Collaborative Writing Theatre Making Collaboration with other artists Collaboration with other art forms 11. Speculative Exercises and Key Points Exercise 1 – Pitching Exercise 2 – Awareness Exercise 3 – Sensory Exercise 4 – Objects Exercise 5 – Unblocking Exercise 6 – Improvise/Devise Exercise 7 – Art forms Exercise 8 – Patience Exercise 9 – Secrets and Lies Where to go next? A Final Word of Advice on Social Media Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on years of experience of writing, teaching and publishing, this book offers essential tools for anyone interested in honing their craft. With a variety of exercises and freewriting prompts to help you try new styles and approaches, it is suitable for aspiring poets, non-fiction writers, novelists and all lovers of words.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Playing with Words 2. Stunning Sentences and Powerful Paragraphs 3. Finding your Voice 4. Purple Prose, Melodrama and Sentimentality 5. Minimalism 6. The Spaces Between 7. Well-Crafted Metaphors 8. Moving Plot Along 9. Finding Place AfterWords Appendix.

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Book SynopsisIn a series of conversational observations and meditations on the writing process, The Art of Slow Writing examines the benefits of writing slowly. DeSalvo advises her readers to explore their creative process on deeper levels by getting to know themselves and their stories more fully over a longer period of time. She writes in the same supportive manner that encourages her students, using the slow writing process to help them explore the complexities of craft. The Art of Slow Writing is the antidote to self-help books that preach the idea of fast-writing, finishing a novel a year, and quick revisions. DeSalvo makes a case that more mature writing often develops over a longer period of time and offers tips and techniques to train the creative process in this new experience. DeSalvo describes the work habits of successful writers (among them, Nobel Prize laureates) so that readers can use the information provided to develop their identity as write

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Book SynopsisBringing together 25 essential works of creative writing criticism in a single volume, this is a comprehensive introduction to the key debates in creative writing today, from the ethics of appropriation to the politics of literary evaluation. Critical Creative Writing covers such topics as: Craft & Politics Language & Community Identity & Authorship Representation & Counternarrative Appropriation & Intertextuality Evaluation & Genre The book anthologizes critical essays written by international literary writers. Each essay is contextualized with an introduction as well as sample questions, writing prompts and suggested readings. The book also has a companion website (www.criticalcreativewriting.org) offering supplemental materials such as lesson plans and course materials. Includes writings by: Ayana Mathis, Leslie Marmon Silko, Craig Santos Perez, Natasha Sajé, Porochista Khakpour, Taiye Selasi, Michael Nardone, Conchitina Cruz, Benjamin Paloff, Dorothy Wang, and many moreTrade ReviewEvery writer wonders how their work will be received, but you can demystify the critical process with this book of essays, which includes discussions on the intersection of writing with politics and identity. * Bustle *Table of ContentsEditorial Note and Introduction For Students For Instructors Chapter 1: Craft Chapter 2: Identity Chapter 3: Privilege Chapter 4: Representation Chapter 5: Language Chapter 6: Appropriation Chapter 7: Evaluation Credits Acknowledgments Index

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Trade ReviewIt’s an elegy to an invisible class ... This is character-driven theatre at its purest ... It’s a play about what unremitting poverty does to the soul, where poverty is not starvation, but life without dignity. * Spectator on "Beyond Caring" *Beyond Caring seethes. It brings your blood to boiling point. * Time Out *Totally compelling ... This understated 90 minutes is quietly devastating ... As time moves, slowly, the whole thing gradually becomes more and more heightened, emotionally and theatrically. The beauty of the piece ... is that it eschews sob stories in favour of genuine tragedy. Just as these people keep themselves pretty much to themselves until the final, desperate moments, so the play always slyly shows and never tells. There are no big speeches. There is much awkward silence. People reveal themselves in small gestures ... There are gusts of sadness; moments of pure desolation. But mostly there is work, with people struggling to survive: to the end of the shift, the end of the day, to the end of life itself. * Guardian on "Beyond Caring" *This desolate, quietly intense devised drama gets under your skin and into your bones ... it's a ringing condemnation of an economic practice that puts profit before people and turns the basic business of earning a living into a barely sustainable, soul-destroying hell. Unforgettable. * The Times on "Beyond Caring" *Alexander Zeldin's devised drama gives an unforgettable taste of life at the bottom of the employment pile ... it has a rare quality of gripping authenticity. * Daily Telegraph on "Beyond Caring" *Zeldin boldly sticks to unostentatious naturalism and draws the audience into this world ... this raw, unsentimental piece has immense cumulative power and quietly conveys just what it means to live with such a crippling lack of security. * Financial Times on "Beyond Caring" *Beyond Caring is beyond praise * International New York Times *

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Trade ReviewCowhig speaks bitterness and makes us sit up and listen. -- Lyn Gardner * Guardian on Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "The World of Extreme Happiness" *Fearless, zippily-paced, and satirical . . . Cowhig forces us down the long hard look path. * Independent on Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "The World of Extreme Happiness" *Fiercely intelligent . . . powerful stuff * Guardian on Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "Lidless" *An excellent new play . . . a very strong script . . . The story grips and the characters are well drawn, demonstrating the complexities of human nature and the ability people have to put morals to one side. * Daily Telegraph on Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "Lidless" *Vital new writing from a talented new voice * Independent on Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "Lidless" *

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Book SynopsisCELIA HUNT is Lecturer in Continuing Education (Creative Writing) at the University of Sussex, UK. She is the author of Therapeutic Dimensions of Autobiography in Creative Writing (Jessica Kingsley, London, 2000). She was awarded a national teaching fellowship by the Higher Education Academy in 2004.FIONA SAMPSON is AHRB Research Fellow in the Creative and Performing Arts at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She is the author of four collections of poetry and several books on writing in health care. She is editor of Orient Express, a journal of contemporary writing from Enlargement Europe.

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Book SynopsisAMANDA BOULTER is Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Winchester, UK. She is the author of Around the Houses and Back Around the Houses both published by Serpent's Tail.

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Book SynopsisYvonne Coppard's many novels for children include Bully and Not Dressed Like That, You Don't! She also writes non-fiction for children and adults. A former teacher, Yvonne was for some years a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow and has extensive experience in teaching creative writing in educational and community settings.Linda Newbery, winner of the Costa Children's Book Prize for her young adult novel Set in Stone, writes for young readers of all ages. Her more than forty titles include The Shell House, Lob, Nevermore, Catcall and The Sandfather. She has wide experience of tutoring writing workshops for children, teenagers and adults.Trade Review...filled to the brim with so many new insights and hidden ancient wisdom about writing that I myself will be reaching for its guidance and its pleasures. * David Fickling *The trouble with a book like Writing Children’s Fiction: A Writers’ and Artists’ Companion, is that it makes someone like me believe that they can write a children’s book. It is that good, and it is above all, that inspiring... Linda Newbery and Yvonne Coppard provide loads of good advice for the budding author, based on how they themselves go about writing...Along with their own tried and tested methods, they have invited the cream of British children’s authors to share their thoughts on what to do. Or not to do... There are so many tips, not to mention inspirational tales in Writing Children’s Fiction... Anne Fine, who has written the foreword, wishes she had had access to this kind of guide when she began, instead of doing it the hard way. * Bookwitch *Coppard and Newbery give us a lively, informed, encouraging and timely ‘companion’ that combines the practical and the inspirational. -- Jan Lee * The Oxford Times *

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Book SynopsisYou are a writer and you have a killer book idea. When your project starts to take off you will find yourself managing a writhing tangle of ideas, possibilities and potential potholes. How do you turn your inspiration into a finished novel? Writing a User''s Manual offers practical insight into the processes that go into writing a novel, from planning to story development, research to revision and, finally, delivery in a form which will catch the eye of an agent or publisher.David Hewson, a highly productive and successful writer of popular fiction with more than sixteen novels in print in twenty or so languages, shows how to manage the day to day process of writing.Writers will learn how to get the best out of software and novel writing packages such as Scrivener, which help you view your novel not as one piece of text, but as individual linked scenes, each with their own statistics, notes and place within the novel structure. As you write, you will need to assemble the main buTrade ReviewDavid Hewson's books have been read by millions...So his views on writing a successful novel are well worth listening to...There's a surfeit of ideas and advice, ranging from how to get started through keeping the project alive to delivering the finished manuscript that you must read. * Self-Publishing Magazine *

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Book SynopsisYour Expert Guide to Writing and Publishing a NovelIn this revised and expanded edition of Your First Novel, novelist Laura Whitcomb, seasoned literary agent Ann Rittenberg, and her knowledgeable assistant, Camille Goldin, team up to provide you with the essential skills needed to craft the best novel you can--and the savvy business know-how to get it published. Complete with updated references, analysis of new best-selling novels, and the same detailed instruction, Whitcomb will show you how to:   • Practice the craft of writing, using both your right- and left-brain   • Develop a flexible card system for organizing and outlining plot   • Create dynamic characters that readers love--and love to hate   • Study classic novels and story structure to adapt with your ideasFeaturing two new chapters on choosing your path as an author and understan

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Book SynopsisGregory Fraser is Associate Professor of English at the University of West Georgia, USA.Chad Davidson is Associate Professor of English at the University of West Georgia, USA.Trade ReviewThis is an excellent tool for knowledge-making inside and outside the classroom. -- Rich Rice, Texas Tech Univeristy, USA‘An excellent book about how to develop critical judgement, and a very lively exploration of human understanding. Analyze Anything does what it claims, and it does it with style.‘ -- Dr Graeme Harper, Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the Honors College, Oakland University, USACritical thinking skills are at the core of the Humanities and here is one of the few books that explains how to analyse systematically. This is a 'how to' book for literature students but also for anyone interested in how to critique the world around them.It looks at symbols, layers, approaches, and techniques, but what's more it explains why they're important. Like all the best study guides this is a clear, accessible, and readable textbook that will greatly help students improve the ways they think and write. -- Peter Childs, Dean of Research and Professor of Modern English Literature, University of Gloucestershire, UKTable of Contents1. The Analysis of Signs; 2. The Characteristics of Theory and Analysis; 3. Choosing a Sign to Analyze; 4. Questioning the Meanings of the Sign; 5. Responding Analytically; 6. The Five-Theories Model of Analysis; 7. Polishing and Presenting the Analysis; 8. Beyond the Five-Theories Model of Analysis; Bibliography; Index.

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